The Top 5 Things to Know about the Presidential Proclamation for H-1B Visas

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On September 19, 2025, the President issued a Proclamation with new restrictions to the H-1B visa program. These restrictions include a new fee for new H-1B visa petitions and restrictions on certain individuals from entering the United States. The situation is very fluid as we wait for the immigration-related agencies to convert the presidential proclamation into agency policy and issue clarifying guidance. Specifically, while portions of the proclamation are aimed at the next annual H-1B lottery to be held in the spring of 2026, there are questions as to whether other portions apply to current H-1B visa holders.

At this time, these are the key takeaways, including what is known and what is not yet known about how the proclamation will be applied:

  1. From September 21, 2025, U.S. employers must pay a fee of $100,000 for each new H-1B visa petition. This is not an annual fee and is a one-time fee required for new H-1B petition filings. The fee requirement is set to expire in 12 months but may be extended. It is not clear at this time if new H-1B petition means H-1B petitions filed in connection with future H-1B lottery draws or if it means all H-1B petitions filed with U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) after September 21, 2025. Nor is there any practical guidance regarding how to pay the fee.
  2. The proclamation does not apply to individuals with currently pending or approved H-1B petitions filed before September 21, 2025, and only applies to petitions not yet filed. Additionally, according to U.S. State Department guidance, the proclamation does not apply to H-1B visa applicants at the U.S. consulates if they present an H-1B approval notice for a petition that was filed before September 21, 2025. Individuals who are currently outside the United States and have a scheduled visa appointment based on an approved H-1B visa petition filed before September 21, 2025, should plan to attend their appointment while being mindful of the possibility of sudden cancellations and delays. Individuals who are currently inside the United States are advised not to depart the United States to attend a visa interview until there is further guidance and clarification about the proclamation. In saying this, we recognize that each individual will need to evaluate the risk of leaving the United States based on current agency guidance to attend a visa appointment against their personal needs and circumstances.
  3. According to agency guidance, the fee requirement does not impact ability to travel in and out the U.S. for current H-1B visa holders, and those who are already outside the U.S. who have a valid H-1B visa will not be required to pay the $100,000 to re-enter the United States. Again, because the situation is rapidly evolving, each individual will need to evaluate the risk of leaving the United States based on current agency guidance and their personal needs and circumstances. Canadian citizens who are visa exempt and do not require H-1B visa stamps, who have an approved H-1B petition filed before the effective date should not be required to pay the $100,000 filing fee.
  4. At this time, it is not clear if the proclamation will apply to H-1B petitions filed after September 21, 2025, for extensions, amendments, change of status, or change of employer. The American Immigration Lawyers Association has interpreted the proclamation not to explicitly impact these types of H-1B petitions for those who are already in the United States. However, USCIS has not officially confirmed this understanding.
  5. The Department of Homeland Security reserves the right to remove the entry restriction if there is a national interest in the hiring of the individual to be employed as an H-1B specialty occupation worker and if they do not pose a threat to U.S. security or welfare. DHS has not issued guidance around the protocols or eligibility criteria for this exception. Similarly, there has been no specific guidance as to whether the fee and entry restriction applies to cap-exempt H-1B visa holders currently outside the U.S.
Conclusion

At present, there are no changes to the current written regulations outside of the Presidential Proclamation.

We anticipate there will be additional guidance in the days and weeks ahead, as well as federal litigation attempting to temporarily or permanently enjoin agencies from taking action based on the proclamation.

The Quarles team is closely monitoring the situation and will provide further updates as we gather additional information. Please reach out to your Quarles immigration attorney with questions, or:

Please visit our Federal Policy Watch: Monitoring White House Developments page for more insight about navigating changes at the federal level.

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